Padre Island resident Lloyd Niederriter is up before the sun every day to pick up trash on Bob Hall Pier, his morning mission in retirement.

Each morning around sunup, regardless of weather, a dutiful Lloyd Niederriter drives his navy blue pickup to Bob Hall Pier.

From the backseat or bed of his pickup, Niederriter retrieves a long-handled trash grabber and a five-gallon bucket, then hobbles steadily up the Bob Hall ramp. The gatehouse attendant greets him and waves the familiar volunteer through to the pier, knowing that Niederriter holds an annual pass.

Vietnam veteran Lloyd Niederriter removes trash from Bob Hall Pier almost daily. This mission is the Padre Isles resident's way to giving back to his adopted state of Texas.

David Sikes

If Niederriter is absent from his appointed rounds, it's probably because has an early appointment at the Veterans Administration clinic.

Several months ago, I began noticing Niederriter's regular routine. He or his navy pickup were a fixture during my frequent morning visits to the pier.

Lloyd Niederriter in Vietnam near Cambodia.

Lloyd Niederriter in Vietnam near Cambodia.

Contributed

Then one day I noticed three Purple Heart stickers on the rear window of his GMC. That same day, a Nueces County Coastal Parks worker was picking up trash in the parking lot. I ask him about the old man with the bucket.

"Oh, that's Lloyd," the worker said in a matter-of-fact tone. "He's here every day rain or shine, cleaning up the pier. Been doing it a while. Great guy. I think he's an Army veteran."

Niederriter, 73, is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He was drafted in 1966 at the age of 19 before he could enlist in the Air Force. He grew up near Pittsburgh in a Catholic family.

That Lloyd in the foreground, second from the left, relaxing with comrades in Vietnam.

That Lloyd in the foreground, second from the left, relaxing with comrades in Vietnam.

He began his public service mission of picking up litter on Padre Island beaches after moving to the island in 2014. He retired in 2005 from a General Motors plant in Toledo, Ohio. At some point, he switched to pier duty.

"I just wanted to do something to pay Texas back for welcoming me here," he said. "I love Texas and its people. Plus I enjoy doing it."

He also enjoys fishing. So when surf conditions are right he returns to the pier with a rod or two. Niederriter said his time on the pier helps with his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. You'd probably never know it, but sometimes he has trouble controlling his anger.

When the weather is right, Lloyd sometimes enjoys fishing after his morning mission.

When the weather is right, Lloyd sometimes enjoys fishing after his morning mission.

David Sikes/Caller-Times

"Coming to the pier is therapy for me," he said. "It helps."

Niederriter doesn't talk much about his Army days. He hated Vietnam, where fear, death, and landmines consumed daily life. He prayed a lot. Some nights, he cried himself to sleep.

Each time he was ordered on a mission to repair roads or create a remote airstrip, his Catholic upbringing came through.

"The first thing I had to do was find a priest," Niederriter said, with his trademark grin. "I had to go to confession. I wasn't taking any chances."

When Niederriter returned home from Vietnam, he kissed the ground in Pittsburgh and thanked God for answering his prayers.

And these days, he often thanks Heaven during his morning vigil for providing him the health and opportunity to patrol the pier.